Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Wiggs (The Twelve Dogs of Christmas) delivers a heart-wrenching chronicle of abuse and healing in this sweeping novel that spans half a century. Fifteen-year-old Mairin O'Hara's life in Buffalo, N.Y., falls apart in the summer of 1968, when her older brother, Liam, narrowly saves her from being raped by their alcoholic stepfather. After Liam heads off to fight in Vietnam, Mairin's mother drops her off at Our Lady of Charity Refuge and Sisters of the Good Shepherd to keep her safe. There, the draconian nuns force the teen girls in their care--many of them pregnant--to work in the laundry. Some girls are at the institution for lack of anywhere else to go, but most were sent as punishment. They are subjected to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, including rape by the order's doctor and the forced adoption of their babies. Determined to save her new friends, Mairin hatches an escape plan. Decades later, the women reunite to expose the horrors they suffered. Though the subject matter is heavy, Wiggs weaves in threads of hope in the girls' acts of defiance, such as hacking off their hair so the nuns can't pull it, and their determination not to let the experience break them. This one lingers long after the last page. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Wiggs's new novel (after The Twelve Dogs of Christmas) is compelling historical fiction set in Buffalo, NY, during the late 1960s. It primarily takes place in the Good Shepherd Home for Wayward Girls, a reform school run by nuns that operates like a Dickensian workhouse. The story follows several of the Good Shepherd residents, who are there for various reasons, ranging from family circumstances to abuse. The main character, Mairin, is sent there when her stepfather tries to rape her; her brother is deploying to the Vietnam War, and her mother is a strict Catholic who thinks the nuns will protect her daughter. Little does she know about the harsh conditions the girls face, including hard manual labor in a Magdalene laundry, nightly confinement, and severe punishments for rule infractions. Mairin and a few of the girls become friends; eventually, some of them escape. Wiggs follows these girls throughout their lives, including the traumatic aftereffects of their childhoods and their subsequent pursuit of justice. VERDICT This powerful and unforgettable novel is a poignant and enlightening look into a sad chapter of recent history. Read-alikes include Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys and William Kent Krueger's This Tender Land.--Stacy Alesi
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